The government of Karnataka in India has announced that international passengers from three countries have to undergo home quarantine for 14 days and follow up RT-PCR shall be conducted on the seventh day.

The Karnataka government said mandatory RT-PCR negative certificate for all passenger arriving to the state from the UK, Brazil and South Africa. International passengers need to undergo home quarantine for 14 days and follow up RT-PCR shall be conducted on seventh day. “International passengers coming to Karnataka, irrespective of their COVID-19 vaccination status to produce RT-PCR negative certificate and follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour,” Karnataka government said.

All those arriving from Kerala and checking into hotels, resorts, hostels, homestays, and dormitories, etc shall compulsorily produce a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours.

The government said positive samples would be sent to NIMHANS here for genomic sequencing. Those in hostels and colleges would not be allowed to have visitors or relatives without obtaining express permission from the Covid nodal officers. A list of students travelling to and from Kerala from hostels or colleges should be maintained by a competent authority, the order said. The government said students should compulsorily produce RT PCR negative test reports, not older than 72 hours, each time they return from Kerala and till the situation improves. The order said that day scholars travelling from Kerala to schools and colleges in any part of Karnataka would be subjected to RT-PCR test every fortnight.

Those who had already arrived in the state from Kerala over the past two weeks should compulsorily undergo this test. The government said the authorities concerned have to appoint a nodal person in hostels and classes to monitor the students’ health condition and that of others.

Anyone not complying with the order would immediately be reported to the nodal person or authorities and made to stay in the designated “quarantine room “in the facility till RT- PCR test report turned negative.

The government asked the authorities to ramp up testing and strengthen COVID-19 surveillance activities in all colleges, residential facilities, which have accommodated the students and others from Kerala.